mike petraglia

Why Celtics will not (and should not) tank next season

WALTHAM -- I was in the room Monday, wondering -- along with all my esteemed colleagues -- just what to make of these new-look Celtics.

There they sat. Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks and Kris Humphries seated with smiles on their faces. Gerald Wallace would’ve been there except for his foundation’s basketball camp down in Alabama.

Then, a thought came to my mind.

This was NOT the introduction of the Big Three. This was just three new faces that will be on the Celtics roster for next season.

Most fans might have yawned, except for Kris Humphries poking fun at Ainge for his reaction to the altercation involving Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett last season and Ainge pointing out Brooks’ green and black striped socks.

Just before introducing the three new players on Monday, Kris Humphries said Celtics basketball chief Danny Ainge had a message for him: "We're not tanking."

"It's the first thing he told me, too," Bogans said, who came to Boston along with Humphries, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks and three first-round draft picks in the deal that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets. Boston also sent Jason Terry to Brooklyn and acquired Kris Joseph.

I believe Danny Ainge.

I know I’m in the minority, but I don’t think the Celtics are going to tank. I actually think they’ll be middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference with a young and talented core to build around.

They’ll be young and exciting.

Ainge has done something brilliant.

He has traded away Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and got long-term roster flexibility and a young feel to his roster that he desperately wanted. He acquired three first-round picks and acquired two players (Humphries and Bogans) who come off the books after next season.

They play in the horrendous Eastern Conference, where the Sixers, Magic, Pistons, Raptors, Wizards and Bobcats reside.

They play in the same conference where the Hawks always seem to be on the threshold of big things before their eternal youth and immaturity gets in the way.

The Knicks have just as many questions as the Celtics and are much older. The Bucks are a young team on the rise but still lack roster depth, as was shown by the Heat in the first round.

The Cavaliers do have young talent in Kyrie Irving, Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller. But again, no quality depth.

The Celtics finished last season 41-40 with an aging roster that was without Rondo, Jared Sullinger and Leandro Barbosa.

During Monday’s presser, another thought came to my mind. A friend recently sent me an email of the headshots of all 16 players on the roster with the subject line: “Who are these guys?”

Being the wise-you-know-what, I replied, “Rajon Rondo’s worst nightmare.”

I wondered, in the moments after learning of the trade, just how would Rondo take to the news that he would be losing Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce and his mentor Kevin Garnett in one fell swoop.

Ainge wins again. Here’s the deal: Rondo can accept new young teammates like Kelly Olynyk and MarShon Brooks and boyish-looking coach Brad Stevens or he can whine his way out of town.

Rondo is no fool. Rondo is one of the brightest players in the game and he knows full well that he is under contract for another two years at roughly $12 million per. He needs to keep his slate and reputation clean if he’s going to work his way to a Chris Paul-like, five-year, $107.5 million payday.

He knows the stories are out there about him being a “coach-killer.” Why do you think he was so vocal with Celtics announcer and legend Cedric Maxwell? Why do you think he said, “I’m not a coach-killer” last week? Why do you think he said, “I’ll never play for the Miami Heat” last weekend? He wants everyone to know he’s on board.

The Boston Globe reported over the weekend that the Pistons offered 21-year-old Brandon Knight for Rondo. While Ainge likely would want a whole lot more, there are those teams out there that would make a move for Rondo now, and if he acts up, Ainge could always pull the trigger. If you’re Rondo, would you like to stay in Boston with the likes of Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Kelly Olynyk and Gerald Wallace or do you want to head to Detroit?

The choice seems pretty simple.

Choice is something Ainge is very aware of. He had the choice to allow the Celtics go down the path they did before when Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish all grew old together.

With Kendrick Perkins, Ray Allen and now, Pierce and Garnett, Ainge certainly isn’t afraid of choosing change. But understand this: Change is not tanking. The assumption is that the Celtics are tanking for next year to put them in the lottery for a draft that is well stocked.

It’s up to Stevens to put it all together. Ainge doesn’t look at Stevens as a guy to take the Celtics through a complete rebuild. He looks at him and sees another Frank Vogel, the 40-year-old coach whose Pacers took the Heat to seven games in the Eastern finals this spring.

Ainge knows Vogel, who back in the day was a roommate of Celtics assistant coach Jamie Young. It was Young who turned down an offer from Doc Rivers and the Clippers to stay on in Boston.

Speaking of Rivers, his trade to the Clippers netted another first-round pick.

So, that’s four potential first-round picks garnered by Ainge as he reworks his roster.

After the press conference, he was asked why he allegedly told his new players they weren’t “tanking” the season.

"I'm not sure I used that word," Ainge said of Humphries and Bogans comments. "I think every player wants to know what the rules of the team are. I assured [them] we're going to try to win every game."

In the woeful Eastern Conference, that might be worth a lot more than most fans think. As a matter of fact, if things break right, it might mean a middle-of-the-pack finish among playoff teams and far more interesting winter than anyone thought two weeks ago.

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